20 Ten Minute Micro Habits To Improve Your Life

“there are only three things we can do that will create lasting change: Have an epiphany, change our environment, or change our habits in tiny ways”– BJ. Fogg, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything

The magic key to big change lies in your small habits.

New Year’s resolutions, ambitious goals set on vision boards, promises we make to ourselves.

Those forgotten journals, looking sad at the back of your desk, are full of big ideas to improve your life.

If you are anything like me, you will make an abundance of big promises to yourself every year. But how many do you actually keep?

I have a journal (or ten) full of ideas, goals, dreams that I routinely pledge to create. Whilst I fully believe in dreaming big dreams, those changes are often hard to accomplish. The goals are just too big and the path too unclear.

I am a firm believer in a life of constant transformation and I love nothing more than a new journal full of new ideas. What I’ve learned is that micro habits hold the key to lasting change. The small actions we carry out every day, often without thinking about.

Just a quick reminder. I am not a medical professional. This blog is not meant to be taken as medical or mental health advice, just from my own personal experience. Before you make a change to your physical or emotional health, I encourage you to seek professional advice. To read our full disclaimer, visit here.

Why Do We Fail With Our Goals?

Life gets busy, something difficult happens, we have a failure, our mental health decreases. These are all reasons why we often fail the goals we set for ourselves. This leaves us feeling sad, unmotivated and unwilling to try again.

As mothers, our goals and dreams are deeply connected to our children and family. I created a goal of writing a new post a day in January. Did I succeed? Of course not. How on earth would that fit into my life as a homeschooling mother?

But my goal last month of spending ten funny, connected minutes each day with each child worked. Why? Because It was a micro-habit, ten minutes a day.

We live in a society now that demands instant success and unwavering motivation. Social media encourages to want quick transformative fixes. Like BJ Fogg, author of Tiny Habits and the free 5 Day Tiny Habits Program says, “we live in an aspiration-driven culture that is rooted in instant gratification. We find it difficult to enact or even accept incremental progress.”

Small changes and daily steps make small, incremental progress.

What are micro habits?

Micro habits are small, easy-to-maintain actions that help individuals gradually build larger, positive habits.

The goal is for these small, simple changes to require minimal effort and be sustainable. I’m not talking about such lofty goals as running a half marathon or creating a 6 figure side hustle. Think run for 5 minutes a day and journal possible side business ideas.

The idea is to lower the barrier for starting a habit, ensuring that it doesn’t feel overwhelming or time-consuming. Because time is something you are surely missing, I am guessing?

Your daily habits, both good and bad, shape your life. How you live, feel, and think is built on those habits.

For time poor, often overwhelmed mothers, tiny changes are all we can really commit to.

So let’s make micro habits part of your routine and take the first step on your transformative journey to improve your life.

Never underestimate the power of micro habits.

I want these steps to be as easy as your money coffee.

So let me know what you think of these new habits!

20 Ten Minute Micro Habits To Improve Your Life

1. Swap your morning coffee for a morning glass of water or warm water. Benefit: this gives your body some much needed hydration after sleeping and gives your digestive system a chance to wake up.
2. Say a positive affirmation out loud. Affirmations are a great way to change your mindset gradually and shift your thinking. I have lots of affirmation posts for you, but this is my current favorite affirmation, I am worthy of all the good things that come my way.
3. Try a short ten-minute morning meditation or mindfulness activity. Benefit: meditation first thing in the morning sets the pace for the rest of your day and allows you to get to work with a clear, calm head. Then you can get on with the to-do lists with a spring in your step.
4. Make your bed (and make your kids too, or ask them to!). Benefit: Having a tiny bit of order in the room where you relax and sleep will have a calming effect on your mood at night. Plus, it gives you a micro win at the start of your day.
5. Stretch your body for 5 minutes before you get dressed. Benefit: Exercise is vital for a healthy life, but so is flexibility. Before you start your day, stretch for 5 minutes. Or try this wonderful 10 minute morning yoga class with Adrienne.

6. Spend 10 minutes journalling whilst you eat your breakfast. Benefit: Writing your thoughts out has a way of encouraging clarity and creativity. Plus, writing out your goals daily is a powerful way to keep them in the front of your mind and guide you on your way.
7. Eat a simple, whole foods breakfast. Benefit: Breakfast like a King! Or an unstoppable, busy mother is more appropriate. Fuel your body with nutrients, not junk, and see how your day improves. We all love cereal, but it’s doing nothing for you. My breakfast is almost every day; old-fashioned oats, full fat yoghurt, linseed and fruit. Healthy habits don’t come much simpler. I like these healthy breakfast recipes from The Spruce Eats too, if you want something other than porridge.
8. Do an isometric exercise whilst you plan your day. Benefit: Isometric exercise is just a static exercise but they pack a tonne of benefit for your strength. Try a wall squat, plank, low squat or anything you can hold safely for 10 seconds – 60 seconds (don’t worry, you can build it up).
9. Listen to an empowering podcast. Benefit: Podcasts are a quick, often free way to gain some insightful wisdom and grow our knowledge, mindset, or motivation. We live in a time of having world experts in so many fields available to us for free. Use this! My top podcasts right now are The Mel Robbins Podcast, The Mothers Quest Podcast, Celebrate Calm and Boss Mom Podcast.
10. Start a gratitude journal or practice. Benefit: Gratitude turns what you have into enough and reminds you of what matters in life. From a place of gratitude, you can create without hurry and attachment.
11. Try exercise snacking, just pick a simple exercise and do 5 minutes. Benefit: if you don’t have time for a run or exercise class, exercise snacking makes use of your snippets of time and adds up to a mini workout throughout the day.
12. Practice Good Posture: Benefit: Make a habit of checking your posture throughout the day. Good posture can make you feel more confident, help you breathe more deeply and hopefully keep you flexible and active.
13. Enjoy moments of mindfulness throughout the day. Benefit: Good habits start in small steps. Mindful moments are a slight pause for your brain, giving you time to rest, reset, and carry on your day. Without a moment to pause, it’s harder to make simple decisions in those moments when you need to.
14. Chose a healthy snack. Benefit: Good snack choices give you a little fuel when needed and contribute to a better diet overall. Go for a piece of fruit, cheese and rice cracker or some nuts and seeds or whatever healthy food you enjoy.
15. Enjoy a hobby. Benefit: Hobbies are good for you in multiple ways. A hobby is often creative, different to your daily life and sometimes very social. And this all contributes to a more joyful and fulfilled you.
16. Do ten minutes of work on a goal. Benefit: When you don’t have much time (hands up all mothers out there) your big goals seem so out of reach. So just do ten minutes of work a day on that goal. That’s how I get 90% of my blog posts written, in ten-minute chunks. Long-term goals become more manageable in short, focused sessions of action.
17. Declutter one drawer. Benefit: You might know that a cluttered house makes a cluttered mind, but actually doing something about it is another matter. I am frequently overwhelmed by clutter, but taking in one small drawer or surface at a time has drastically reduced the clutter in my home and office. Give it a go.
18. Acts of kindness. Benefit: Kindness towards others is good for your community, good for you and good for this world. Spreading kindness is a micro-habit that has the power to make big changes in our world.
19. Read a book on personal growth by someone inspirational. Benefit: Experts or mentors who have walked the path you are on can guide your way. You might be years away from your goal or almost there, but reading something inspirational every day keeps your fire glowing strong.
20. Get your workout clothes ready for the morning. Benefit: You are more likely to stick to your morning workout if it’s easy to find everything you need. Habit stacking can help here. Make your bed in the morning and find your workout clothes or just clothes for the next day before you head to bed.

Which new micro habits are you going to try?

Now you’ve done your research and learnt all about the big power of small micro habits, it’s time for some action.

Simply reading this without taking action is a complete time waste. And I know you want new routines as you searched for and found this page.

Mothers have little time to waste, so let’s get started today.

I have started a new habit today, doing 10 press-ups every morning. I have really weak arms and I am sick of it. Ta-da, a new micro habit is born!

Let me know, today, what habit you are picking and I will pick one of your comments to highlight in this post. I love hearing your voices shine out.

What 3 Habits Can Transform My Life Completely?

Only got time to think about 3 habits? If you search in Google for the 3 most powerful micro-habits, there are a few obvious common results.

1. Meditation every day
2. Regular exercise
3. Gratitude attitude

You are the only person who can transform your life. But that can seem daunting if motherhood has consumed you or if you have simply been too busy with life for a long time.

Take a conscious interest in your own growth and happiness by tiny actions, taken consistently.

Habit tracking can help see where your achievements and struggles lie, but only do this if you feel it helps.

Here with you, one micro habit at a time.

Amanda x